Welcome to our Real Life Weddings page !

This is where the spotlight shines on all of the amazing weddings that we shoot !

Today the spotlight is on Sara & Rhys’s beautiful Bundaberg wedding !

The proposal

After Rhys had just finished a 6 week shift at the mines we went out to have a romantic dinner at a beach front restaurant in Bargara. Afterwards we went for a walk along the beach, Rhys got down on one knee and finally popped the question. Apparently he had asked my Dad’s permission weeks earlier, I can’t believe they kept it a secret. Our parents were so happy seeing we have been together since high school.

The Details

Ceremony location: Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Bundaberg, Reception location: RSL in Bundaberg on the river

Gown: Purchased at Brides of Brisbane in Queen Street Mall – Wedding bands and engagement rings: Both our wedding bands were bought at Bill Proctor in Bundaberg.

My engagement ring was from Michael Hill and Bill Proctor’s jewellers made the wedding band to fit the engagement ring.

Wedding Coordinator: Trudi Fagg (RSL events manager), Kerilyn Dowling (Lavish Flower Market) and Chris Murrin (Picture Perfect Decorator) all worked really well together to make my day special. Very grateful for how professional they were. I really felt that they wanted our day to be flawless.

Decorator: Chris Murrin from Picture Perfect in Bundaberg and Bundaberg Party Hire provided the gorgeous white wooden chairs.

Hair: My close friend and neighbour Kirsten Kuskey styles all the girls on the day. Her attention to detail is amazing.

I had a Swarovski crystal hair pin and veil provided by Brides of Brisbane.

Bridal party attire: The bridesmaid dresses were made by Ann at Regent Taylors in Queen Street Mall and the boys suits were designed by Spurling formal wear and provided by The Hut Mens Wear in Bundaberg.

Make-up: Tania and Morgan from Indulgence hair and beauty did all our makeup on the day using Napoleon Perdis products. Tania also gave me semi-permanent eyelash extensions a few days prior. Tania even gave me a little pack to touch up on the day. She was very professional and a pleasure to deal with.

Flowers: Kerilyn Dowling and her daughter from Lavish Flower Market in Bundaberg decorated the church and reception with the most amazing flowers. She is very passionate about what she does and it shows in her arrangements.

Stationery: We designed and made the invitations ourselves. We had a few late nights of gluing the invitations, menus and church booklets together but it was worth it!

Cake: I found the cake in a bridal magazine and Karen Harris from Sweet Perfection Iced Decorations re-created for me. It was a chocolate marbled cake and tasted so good!

Entertainment: Carl Wockner and his band provided our entertainment and made sure the night ran smoothly.

Transport: The transport was provided by Golden Gate Limousines from sunshine coast. The car was a white Chrysler 300 C super stretch. Our driver (Rob) was amazing and so professional. He helped me in and out of the Limo and was such a gentlemen. Most importantly he had a great range of music and kept the bubbly flowing!

Photography

Ben Clark was our photographer. He was amazing and much more than a photographer on the day. He helped us capture important moments and helped the boys with their ties and cufflinks. I cannot recommend him more highly.

Videography: Adam Oldham from PDA productions had a great sense of humour and was very professional. Ben and Adam work very well together which made the day run so smoothly and we felt relaxed around them.

Honeymoon: The Hilton in Hawaii

Funniest Moment:

As the bridesmaids and I were getting ready to leave the girls were underneath my dress tying the ribbon (a difficult job). We were a little bit rushed at this point and the girls quickly finished tying and finally found their way out from under my dress. As one of the girls stood up she stood on the front of her dress and ripped the front hanging piece of material off! When I first heard the rip I was expecting the back of her dress to be turn right open. After a few seconds of gasps and wide eyes we quickly grabbed a pin from the sewing kit my Dad had brought with him. We didn’t have time to sew so her dress was pinned all day. I will never forget her face, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry!

Favourite Wedding Day moment: Rhys and I both agree it was seeing each other for the first time when walking down the aisle. It had been such a busy day and it was just nice to see him.

Special thanks to:

Everyone who was involved and those who travelled.

In your experience what did you value most about using Ben Clark Photography ?

On your wedding day everything happens so quickly and you miss some of the special moments. Ben captured memories that will last a life time. I think it is so important to get a photographer you trust and know will do a great job on the day. Rhys and I had seen Ben’s photos before so we trusted him and just let him “do his thing” on the day. It is rare to have family from both sides all together and Ben made sure he took photos we wanted as well as taking amazing photos that we would never have thought of. He even travelled to Bundaberg early to make sure he was organised and prepared.

Advice for other brides-to-be:

Take the time to look around and just absorb what’s going on around you, after all, you have worked so hard for your wedding day. Make the most of your special day and don’t sweat the small stuff, you have put everything in place so sit back and your bridesmaids and photographer etc will do the rest for you.

Thank you Sara and Rhys, I really enjoyed my trip up to Bundaberg and being a part of your families for a day or two !